AT&T Developed Secret Program To Help U.S. Police Mine Client Phone Recordsby Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch BlogOctober 28th, 2016Police departments across the U.S. pay AT&T, the telecommunications giant, over one hundred thousand dollars a year for special access to telephone records of clients without first obtaining a warrant. The program is called 'Hemisphere' and the company required buyers to keep its existence secret.

VimpelCom Pays $795 Million To Settle Uzbekistan Bribery Investigationby Richard Smallteacher, CorpWatch BlogFebruary 18th, 2016Netherlands-based telecommunications giant VimpelCom announced today that it would pay U.S. and Dutch authorities $795 million to end an investigation into bribery in Uzbekistan. While the settlement does not reveal the recipient of the bribes, most sources point to Gulnara Karimova, daughter of the Uzbek president.

Uber Plans to Track Users Should Not Be Allowed, Says Privacy Groupby Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch BlogJune 22nd, 2015A formal complaint has been filed against Uber, the car ride company, by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a non-profit advocacy group. The NGO says Uber plans to use their smart phone app to access user’s locations at all times, and to send advertisements to user’s contact lists.

Apple Agrees To Chinese Government Security Audits, Worrying Activistsby Mayu ChangFebruary 11th, 2015Apple has agreed to allow the Chinese government run security audits on the new iPhone to prove that there is no back door access for the U.S. government. However, activists say that this agreement could have the opposite effect, allowing China to broaden spying on its own people.

Indian Government Loses Major Tax Case to Vodafoneby Mayu Chang, CorpWatch BlogNovember 4th, 2014Vodafone recently won a rare – but potentially very significant – victory over Indian tax authorities. The Bombay High Court dismissed the government demand for the company to pay 30 billion rupees (about $490 million) for a share transaction conducted in the offshore tax haven of Mauritius.

Pakistan Courts to Hear Lawsuit Against Finfisher Spy Softwareby Rozali Telbis, CorpWatch BlogMay 12th, 2014A Pakistani court has set a June 5 court date to hear a lawsuit from ‘Bytes for All’ - a digital rights group - for the alleged use of FinFisher spy software by the Pakistani government. The software is manufactured by Gamma International, an Anglo-German company.

Failed Cuban “Twitter” Project Designed By U.S. Government Contractorsby Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch BlogApril 8th, 2014ZunZuneo - a now defunct social media platform similar to Twitter – was designed to undermine the Cuban government by two private contractors: Creative Associates International from Washington DC and Mobile Accord, a Denver based company. Funding was provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Smartphone Game Data Targeted by NSA: Angry Birds Citedby Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch BlogJanuary 28th, 2014Millennial Media, a Baltimore based ad company, creates “intrusive” profiles of users of smartphone applications and games like Angry Birds, according to documents leaked to the media by whistleblower Edward Snowden. Such profiles have been exploited by intelligence authorities like the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), say investigative journalists.

“Cyberazzi” – Data Mining Companies Investigated for Invasion of Privacyby Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch BlogJanuary 21st, 2013The paparazzi hide in bushes and use telephoto lenses to snap pictures of celebrities. The “cyberazzi” parachute into web browsers and sneak up behind mobile phones to spy on ordinary people. Nine such data mining companies must report what personal information they gather for sale by next week.

Taiwanese Display Manufacturer Fined $500 Million for Price-Fixingby Puck Lo, CorpWatch BlogOctober 22nd, 2012Taiwanese company AU Optronics and its U.S. subsidiary were fined $500 million by a U.S. judge for conspiring to artificially inflate the prices of liquid crystal display (LCD) screens in a verdict handed down last month. Two former AU Optronics executives were also given three-year prison sentences.

Big Brother in Iran: With A Little Help From Chinese and European Companiesby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchMarch 27th, 2012Big Brother is watching Iranians with a little help from Chinese and European companies. Reuters revealed that ZTE Corporation had sold Tehran surveillance technology. This comes in wake of revelations late last year by Bloomberg that Creativity Software in the UK had sold the Iranians “location tracking and text-message monitoring equipment.”

AT&T Allegedly Profited From Nigerian Scam Artistsby Pratap Chatterjee, CorpWatch BlogMarch 23rd, 2012AT&T, the U.S. telecommunications giant, allegedly profited from Nigerian nationals, who claimed to be deaf, to help them order goods from U.S. stores with stolen credit cards. The U.S. government alleges that the company then passed the charges on to the taxpayer.

An Uncomfortable Spotlight in Davosby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatch January 31st, 2008The CEOs of three-quarters of the world's 100 largest companies have just completed an uncomfortable weekend at the tiny Swiss ski resort of Davos, while their companies' share prices nosedived on global stock markets, amid concern that the U.S. economy is staggering towards recession.

Domestic Spying, Inc.by Tim Shorrock , Special to CorpWatch November 27th, 2007A new U.S. intelligence institution will allow government spy agencies to conduct broad surveillance and reconnaissance inside the country for the first time. Contractors like Boeing, BAE Systems, Harris Corporation, L-3 Communications and Science Applications International Corporation are already lining up for possible work.

Intelligence in Iraq: L-3 Supplies Spy Supportby Pratap Chatterjee, Special to CorpWatchAugust 9th, 2006L-3 Communications, a little-known but gigantic military contractor, provides 300 contract intelligence experts to the Pentagon in Iraq to support operations ranging from interrogation to media analysis. The secretive $426.5 million operation, which is run out of Virginia, may be a recipe for disaster, say critics.
Also see related story, A Translator's Tale, by Pratap Chatterjee.

A Proxy Battle: Shareholders vs. CEOsby Kevin Kelleher, Special to CorpWatchJune 13th, 2006Earnest shareholder resolutions presented at company annual general meetings on everything from human rights to executive compensation are routinely shot down in flames. But shareholder resolutions may have an effect, even in defeat.

Talking Back to the Ganglordsby Ted Nace, Gangs of AmericaJuly 18th, 2003Computer giant Intel lost a major lawsuit against a fired employee who sent email protest letters to his former colleagues, in a court decision that is a major victory for free speech and workers' rights.

Williams Companies: Enron IIby Wayne Madsen, Special to CorpWatchFebruary 14th, 2002Top executives say Williams Companies faces huge losses due to deals with Enron. But a lawsuit says they were covering up the company's own Enron-like activities.

Peddling the E-Ticket to the Development Trainby Sarah Anderson, Special to CorpWatchMarch 8th, 2001As both the Democratic and Republican parties jockey to win the favor of the high-tech industry, U.S. trade officials under Clinton and now under the Bush Administration have been aggressively promoting high tech's global interests by breaking down barriers to electronic commerce.

Microsoft and Internet DevelopmentCorpWatchMay 6th, 1998What do computer programmers think about Microsoft's role in the development of the Internet, and the social implications of the underlying technical issues? We asked Harry Hochheiser, an Internet software developer and board member of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility for his perspective.

Defying a Microsoft World ViewCorpWatchMay 6th, 1998Audrie Krause is the founder and executive director of NetAction. When this interview took place in January 1998, Microsoft had recently agreed under threat of a contempt of court citation in the US Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit, to allow personal computer manufacturers who install Windows to remove the Internet Explorer icon from the desktop.

Philippine Greens Protest the Visit of Bill Gatesby Roberto Verzola, The Philippine GreensMarch 20th, 1998A denunciation of Microsoft for pressuring the Philippine government to establish special laws and law enforcement forces to protect the corporation's software at the expense of educating Philippine students.

MITSUBISHI: The Most Environmentally Destructive Corporate Force on Earthby Joshua Karliner, CorpWatchDecember 1st, 1997The best known, most prestigious, and largest keiretsu, is the Mitsubishi Group of companies. Given the size and reach of its diverse activities, and due to the fact that it is more heavily focused in polluting industrial sectors than other keiretsu, the Mitsubishi Group may well be the single most environmentally destructive corporate force on Earth.

Towards a Democratic Media SystemCorpWatchOctober 1st, 1997Robert W. McChesney is Associate Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Wisconsin, Madison talks about corporate control of the Internet in this CorpWatch interview.

Organizing the High Tech IndustryCorpWatchFebruary 10th, 1997CorpWatch interviews John Barton, Organizing Coordinator, Building Service Division, of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and links up with other groups organizing for worker health and safety.

The Globalization of High Techby Carlos Plazola, Campaign for Responsible TechnologyFebruary 10th, 1997High-tech electronics industry representatives in the Silicon Valley are finally admitting that their facilities pose significant risks to surrounding communities (of course, they admitted this for liability and permit renewal purposes). A recent article in the San Jose Mercury News (6/18/96) described the struggle between LSI Logic and a neighboring Muslim school.